Does the success of Erotica signal the end of traditional romance?

R.L. Facre is an up and coming blooming author of voguish romance, with a slight dabble in Horror. He is a son, brother and a native of the mile-high city. He is a basketball, and boxing enthusiast. R.L. writes at all cost, even in a café ☕️, late at night; deprived of three days’ rest. The world may not be what it should be, but a story has the potential to depict it as it could be.

The movie adaptation of “50 Shades of Gray” was beyond successful in movie theaters. The book was just as impressive for author E.L. James, engrossing bestseller type of numbers. The success of the book and the movie is undeniable. Audiences went to the movie theater in droves to see the trilogy.

Marlon Wayans’s “50 Shades of Black” parody movie may have benefited from the notoriety of “50 Shades of Grey.” The success is irrefutable, but does it denote the end of the traditional romance narrative. “50 Shades” can be thought of as the more intensive direct style to romance.

No metaphors, no similes, no foreplay; the intimacy is more explicit. Criticizing the success of the book or author would be resentful at best. There is nothing wrong with the success of the book, or the subsequent movie adaptation. The third installment movie in the series was quite interesting.

Does the success of that type of narrative denote the end of traditional romance? Will non-explicit material bore romance readers? The question is more than likely twofold, in some ways it may; in other ways implicit material may be refreshing. Not every reader is searching the equivalent of a strip show in the form of words.

Then again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting something that explicit! Romance comes in many forms and is not limited to a specific type of love. It would only make sense to have narratives that vary from the traditional love style. People are not robots, love is not mechanical, so stories should vary in style.

However, what does the pressure of the success of explicit stories do the writing community? Writers can see the success of a story like “50 Shades” and feel the pressure to conform. Conformity can be an enticement to achieve the success that writers want to obtain. If said writer sees an explicit narrative do well, that writer will feel pressure to conform.

That pressure could create a trickle-down effect throughout the writing community in theory. The market would be oversaturated with stories similar to “50 Shades of Grey.” There are several aspiring to achieve E.L. James’ level of success releasing books into the market. Several of the books on Amazon boast covers of rippling muscles and a title.

Erotic books undoubtedly will be saturate the market from all levels of the ether. Does the market need anymore erotic books? There will always be room for those types of books, the answer is an emphatic yes! That is not the question that every author should be asking.

The onus is not on the reader, but on the author to supply quality content. There is room for all the distinctive styles of romance. Do authors have to conform, the answer is an emphatic no! There is room for the implicit style of romance, where some details are left to the imagination.

Readers are intrigued most by unique voice in storytelling; something they cannot get from another book. The success of JK Rowling, E.L. James, Nicholas Sparks, Angie Thomas, and others show that there is room for success in distinctiveness.